I just built my first drum from scratch

Holy Crap Batman it's a woodworking god

That is a seriously high level of woodworking skill. The challenges invloved without the advantage of a drum building factory seem staggering to me. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to clamp the staves together and keep everything round not to mention the sanding process. And thats just the beginning.

I'm very impressed!!

I spent 5 years in cabinet mfg. and while we didn't do art it does give me some perspective about what you have accomplished.

ac
 
ausrock said:
Being out of round isn't a problem provided it isn't excessive and considering just how many more ply shells are out there compared to staves, this........."I've seen several ply shells go out of round I've yet to see a stave go out of round".........is not surprising ;).

Because of the nature of it's construction and the usual thickness, a stave (or segmented shell) should be quite stable. If they have a weakness, it is that if dropped, they may split along either a glue joint or one of the staves. Ply shells are usually cross laminated and this give them an inherent strength and durability that can't be built into other timber shell types. Steam bent, stave, segment and solid one piece shells are all "machined" so any imperfections evident in their raw state will usually be removed by the "machining" process.

:cool:
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That kind of proves my point sir. Staves arent going to go out of round, which was all I was saying, I never denied that they are more likely to break if dropped (which they are). They are more vulnerable to impact damage, as are segments and solid shells.
 
acattoir said:
That is a seriously high level of woodworking skill. The challenges invloved without the advantage of a drum building factory seem staggering to me. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to clamp the staves together and keep everything round not to mention the sanding process. And thats just the beginning.

I'm very impressed!!

I spent 5 years in cabinet mfg. and while we didn't do art it does give me some perspective about what you have accomplished.

ac
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Why thank you sir, but it really is not that hard to physically make, just tedious and time consuming, the hard part is learning what youre doing :cool:
 
And Virgil Donati would say: " It's not that hard to play 16ths with your feet at 200 bpm, with a syncopated groove on top. It's just tedious and time consuming learning how". Building a drum like that takes a certain commitment to precision and the patience to do all the steps.

It may not be that hard (to you). But the average Joe wouldn't even know where to start.

OK, I'm done.
ac
 
A fellow Ghostnoter, I see...

Looks great, man. Get a recording up sometime, I'd love to compare it soundwise with my stave.
 
NegadivOne said:
Hey man, don't be afraid to disagree with me, but if I am wrong please explain to me why I am wrong so I can learn from my mistakes. I'm only speaking from my experience but I've seen several ply shells go out of round I've yet to see a stave go out of round. Granted, I am no expert and havent yet seen a stave say, 10 years after being built.
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Chiming in:

Any wood can warp over time, it's a lottery (I'm sure you know this). A solid piece of wood has no support should it decide to wander off, whereas a cross-laminated ply will be less likely to have each individual piece just so happen to warp in the same direction. A far greater number of 1-piece guitar necks warp, when compared to 3-5 piece necks, for example. I'd assume that exposure to extremes of humidity and/or temperature would ruin a stave far faster than a ply drum.
 
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